rab the snake. Fortunately for him, the frigate bird had
flown seaward, so that when he did let go, he fell into the water, and,
probably, however his temper might have suffered, he was not much the
worse for the ducking. Had he fallen on the rock, he would inevitably
have had his shell broken, and would himself have become the prey of the
pirate.

There were also sooty terns and gannets. It was interesting to watch
the careful way in which the latter guarded their eggs, placed in holes
on the ground. Wishing to make their offspring hardy, they do not build
nests for them, I suppose; or, perhaps, the warmth of the rock assists
the process of incubation.

There were probably a greater number of tropic birds than of any others.
They would not got out of our way as we walked along, allowing us to
shove them over rather than move. We literally also took their eggs
from under them, without their attempting to make any defence. This
apathy, as we called it, we thought arose from stupidity, but the doctor
examined one of them, and showed us how weak its legs were, while its
feet were adapted only for swimming. Its wings, however, were very long
and powerful. Therefore, had it been up in the air, or skimming along
over the summit of the waves, it would probably have acted in a very
different way. "Never judge of people till you know the sphere of life
in which they have been accustomed to move," remarked the doctor. "A
really sensible, clever man, may appear very stupid and dull, just as
these poor birds do, simply because he is out of his element."

The tropic bird is a species of gull, about the size of a partridge. It
has a red bill and legs. The feathers are white, tipped with black, and
the back is variegated with curved lines of black. The tail consists of
two long, straight, narrow feathers, almost of equal breadth during
their whole length. Their flight is most graceful--they glide along
with scarcely any perceptible motion of the wing. They return every
night to roost on land. They live entirely on fish. The natives of the
South Sea Islands ornament their persons with their feathers. We saw a
number of snakes, but none of them attempted to bite us; and the doctor
said from their appearance that he did not believe them to be of a
venomous character. Whenever we went near the water among the rocks, we
saw large fish darting about, of every colour and shape; huge, long eels
gliding in and out between